Saudi Arabia Supports Pakistan’s Economy with $20 Bn in 4 Years

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan officials signed oil and energy derivatives financing contracts last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan officials signed oil and energy derivatives financing contracts last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Saudi Arabia Supports Pakistan’s Economy with $20 Bn in 4 Years

Saudi Arabia and Pakistan officials signed oil and energy derivatives financing contracts last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Saudi Arabia and Pakistan officials signed oil and energy derivatives financing contracts last week (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi support for the Pakistani economy constituted a safety valve for its stability and continuity, allowing it to face economic repercussions.

Asharq Al-Awsat monitored recent agreements between Riyadh and Islamabad, revealing that Saudi support has doubled in the last four years, exceeding $21.64 billion, in a diversified portfolio including aid, support, investment, and deposits.

In recent years, successive Pakistani governments faced several economic crises and a difficult financial situation resulting from multiple global financial problems, the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic, the Russian-Ukrainian war, high inflation rates, and energy prices.

However, Saudi support to the Pakistani economy contributed to its survival by helping it fulfill its obligations towards banks and international financial institutions, pushing the Pakistani economy towards overcoming these crises, supporting foreign currency reserves, and enabling it to grow sustainably.

Saudi Arabia provided about $5.4 billion to finance Pakistan’s oil derivatives through the Saudi Fund for Development. In October 2021, it offered about $1.2 billion to finance the Pakistani oil derivatives trade and support the state.

In November, the Saudi Fund for Development deposited $3 billion to the Central Bank of Pakistan to address the economic plunge in the country and support its foreign currency reserves.

The Saudi government extended the deposit term in December and announced last week its intention to consider increasing the amount.

In August, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, gave directives to invest $1 billion in the Pakistani economy.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also gave directives last week, to study and increase the Kingdom's investments in Pakistan to reach 10 billion dollars.

Economic reports indicate that the trade exchange between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan reached $4.2 billion during the second quarter of 2022.

About 1.1 million Pakistanis work in Saudi Arabia, with remittances during the past fiscal year estimated at $4.4 billion, constituting an essential tributary to the Pakistani economy.

Since 2019, the Pakistani economy has been going through a difficult phase and financial distress amid economic crises, notably the severe shortage in foreign exchange reserves, reaching $5.6 billion, the lowest level in about nine years.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
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China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.